Prasang 1
The Purpose of Bhagwān Swaminarayan’s Incarnation
The Supreme Sarvāvatāri Parabrahma Purushottam Narayan manifested on this earth out of his unconditional compassion for all souls. In Vachanāmrut Gadhadā I-78, Shriji Maharaj says, “God—who transcends Akshar, who is beyond mind and speech, and who is imperceptible—himself, out of compassion, resolves, ‘May all the enlightened and unenlightened people on Mrutyulok behold Me.’ Having resolved in this manner, God—whose will always prevails—out of compassion becomes perceivable to all people on Mrutyulok.” What was the purpose of Bhagwān Swaminarayan’s arrival on this earth? Shriji Maharaj himself revealed the reasons for his manifestation.
In Samvat 1877 (1820 AD) Shriji Maharaj came to Kāriyāni to celebrate Diwali-Annakut when Gopālānand Swami arrived from Vadodarā for his darshan. Shriji Maharaj greeted him with an embrace and then led him to Akshar Ordi. After seating Gopālānand Swami beside him, Shriji Maharaj asked the other swamis and devotees to leave. Nishkulānand Swami, assuming Shriji Maharaj was about to discuss something important, entered the room. However, Shriji Maharaj asked him to leave as well, directing his attention to the construction of the new washing area. With the doors of Akshar Ordi now closed, Nishkulānand Swami’s curiosity was piqued, and he attempted to listen from outside. Inside, Shriji Maharaj asked Gopālānand Swami, “Swami, I have come here with my Akshardham and all the muktas. Do you know why?” Gopālānand Swami replied, “No Maharaj!” Then Shriji Maharaj revealed to Gopālānand Swami, the six objectives behind his manifestation on earth:
1. To propagate my sarvopari upāsanā and gnān on this earth.
2. To preach to the followers of previous avatārs the knowledge of my form and upāsanā and send them to Akshardham.
3. To liberate Bhaktidevi and Dharmadev from the harassment of evil people and bless them with the bliss of my murti.
4. To revive and spread the long-forgotten ekāntik dharma, which consists of dharma, gnān, vairāgya, and bhakti coupled with the understanding of God’s glory.
5. To give the fruits of the austerities and bhakti in the form of my darshan to those ascetics and yogis who have been worshipping God since eternity; to fulfill the wishes of those mumukshus who have great affection for God, and to shower them with love.
6. To initiate swamis who embody ekāntik dharma, build shikharbaddha mandirs for worship, and create scriptures narrating my divine incidents and the principles of ekāntik dharma. To establish on this earth the lineage of Param Ekāntik Sant, who will forever sustain ekāntik dharma and keep the path of liberation to Akshardham open.
